Politics do not deserve their name unless they are Real Politic, as in the German concept devised by the Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, although I realize that this might be practiced in the sense of Power Politics following the American way, as attempted by the other German Henry Kissinger. Today, Iran is practicing power politics without being strong enough to impose its policies on anyone, instead of practicing Real Politic so that the consuming wolf does not die, and the producing lamb does not perish. If the reader wishes to understand the difference between right and wrong politics, all he or she has to do is observe the Turkish policy spearheaded by Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Abdullah Gul, and then observe the Iranian policy spearheaded by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. I write against the backdrop of Iran's agreement to ship 1200 kg of its uranium to Turkey, to be enriched to the 20 percent threshold, which is enough to operate the medical research reactor near Tehran. The deal, which Erdogan and the Brazilian President Lula da Silva forged with Ahmadinejad in Tehran, provoked a negative Israeli response and U.S doubts as Iran insisted on continuing its enrichment of uranium. In truth, this deal is the same as the one approved by Iran before backtracking from it after its meeting with the six major powers in Geneva and Vienna,. This deal stipulated that Iran hand over 1200 kg, or 75 percent, out of 1600 kg of the uranium in its possession, to Russia and France, which would then enrich it further to 19.75 percent, from the five percent level achieved by the Iranians so far. I do not know whether Iran will adhere to this deal or find a reason to backtrack on it (I personally hope that Iran would acquire nuclear weapons to confront Israel; however I am writing here about facts, not wishes). Comparing the work of the governments of Turkey and Iran in recent months, I cannot help but note the massive difference in political awareness, the ability to deal with complex issues, and the difference in understanding what is possible and what is not between the two countries. In recent months, Erdogan visited Iran and signed a gas deal, before returning there to extract a nuclear deal. Moreover, Turkey conducted joint military manoeuvres with Syria instead of Israel, prompting the latter to express its concern that its military secrets may be conveyed to Syria. Turkey also held an agreement with Armenia, which is pending the latter's parliament's approval, despite the historic tension in the relations between the two nations. In addition, Erdogan visited Greece to open a new chapter with this country, while President Gul visited Africa at the head of a delegation made of 150 officials and businessmen. Furthermore, Turkey is active in Egypt, Syria and all Arab countries, in order to build a Turkish-Arab alliance against Israel. Last but not least, the Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu visited Iran to start nuclear negotiations, and received before that Dr. Ayad Allawi in Ankara. Around the same period, Iran announced in November that it plans to build ten new nuclear reactors, with work on two of these reactors to begin in March. Then last month, and at nobody's request, Iran announced that President Ahmadinejad approved a new unspecified site to build a new uranium enrichment facility, in addition to conducting military exercises that spread concern among its neighbours across the Gulf, and revealing new missiles in its arsenal. In the meantime, the Americans (whom I do not believe) monitoring the border with Iraq claimed that explosives, detonators and rockets were being smuggled from Iran, and that al-Qaeda's leaders were given a free hand to move from and into Iran, including Saif al-Adel and other terrorist suspects. The above is not a policy, but rather political delinquency, and what is even worse is the call by Ayatollah Mohammad Baqer Kharrazi to restore Greater Iran, along the lines of the Greater Israel, encompassing the Middle East and Central Asia. The resemblance between Iran and Israel in this regard goes beyond dreams: just like Greater or even Smaller Israel never existed, the Persian Empire on the other hand cannot materialize except in the dreams of its advocates. Furthermore, the most recent outrage we heard from Iran's wise policy was the request by an Iranian MP for compensations from Iraq for the first Gulf War. There are in fact two answers that I can present to debunk this impossible request: first of all, the revolutionary Iran declaredly stated that its official policy is to export its Islamic Revolution, and hence, Saddam was defending himself. Second of all, there is a known principle in international law, known as the law of odious debts, whereby legitimate governments that succeed illegitimate ones are not obliged to pay the latter's debts and indeed. Saddam Hussein's regime is illegitimate as Iran itself insists, and the present government is legitimate as Iran and the rest of the world also recognize. One final point: the Shiite religious authority in the world is in the Najaf, and not Qom. Besides, it belongs to Ayatollah Sistani and not Ayatollah Khamenei, and all claims to the contrary are arrogant, and are my evidence for the difference between the wise policy of Turkey and the reckless policy of Iran, so perhaps Arab politics will soon learn the rules of the game from the new allies in the north. [email protected]
